As Christians, we celebrate the virgin birth of Christ at Christmas. Have you ever stopped to think how important that really is? It’s important from both a human prophecy point of view as well as from a spiritual salvation point of view. As we saw in the previous post, the coming Messiah was supposed to be a descendant of Adam (Gn 3:15), Abraham (Gn 17:19), Isaac (Nu 24:17), Jacob (Gn 49:10), Judah (Is 11:10), and David (Jr 23:5-6). And we see this from the genealogy provided in Matthew Chapter 1. Yet, we also see something else. Something unexpected. Scripture also states that the coming Messiah was not only to be a descendant of David, but be an heir to David’s throne (Is 9:7).

Now here is where the conundrum occurs. Joseph was indeed a descendant of David and of Solomon through whom the throne passed (Mt 1:6). Yet, a descendent of Solomon, and part of the royal lineage, was Jeconiah (Mt 1:11) about whom God made a special, earth-shattering, announcement through the prophet Jeremiah (Jr 22:24-30). He stated that none of his descendants would sit on the throne of David in Judah. Did you catch that? No descendant of Jeconiah would sit on the throne. But wait, the promised Messiah was to sit on David’s throne in Jerusalem which is in Judah. How can this be resolved?

Joseph was of the lineage of Jeconiah and, therefore, of the royal lineage, but this would all fall apart unless Jesus was not his son. If Jesus was the biological son of Joseph, his reign would fall under this curse. So, how could he be a descendant of David, have a legitimate right to the throne, and not be a descendant of Jeconiah? It seems God had it all figured out. Mary, Joseph’s betrothed, was also a descendant of David through another son, Nathan (Lk 3:31). Since Mary was Christ’s biological mother, this made him a descendant of King David. Joseph was an heir to the throne of David. He claimed Jesus as his own child (Mt 1: 24; Lk 2:5), although he was actually born of the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:18). Since Joseph claimed Jesus as his own son, even though he wasn’t, this made him a legitimate son of Joseph and an heir to the throne without being a descendant of Jeconiah.

This narrowed the field considerably of who could really be the Messiah. Not only did he have to fulfil all the prophecies we mentioned in the previous post, but he had to fulfill this convoluted prophecy. Only by his virgin birth could such a prophecy be fulfilled. It was the only way for all the prophecy to be fulfilled exactly as stated. And, of course, the spiritual side of this is enormous. Who else could fulfill the need for one to pay the price for mankind’s sins except one who could identify with being human while being God. Blood was needed to pay for the justice God demanded, and only the blood of Christ was holy enough (both in purity and uniqueness) to pay that for everyone.

Now the hard work has been done. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t free for the one who secured the payment. Yet, it is free for us if we only ask, believe, and accept this one, this perfect one, this unique one, as the hope for our eternal future. The Christmas season is upon us. Will you make this a special one for you as well?

Jesus had come to his people, the Jews, but how did Jesus respond to Gentiles he came in contact with. There are several passages where Gentiles came to Jesus that on the surface looks like he was not very receptive of them. However, he turned these seemingly awkward encounters into teaching opportunities:

Jesus traveled to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Mt 15:21). These are cities in Phoenicia which was considered part of Syria at that time. Therefore, Jesus was in Gentile territory. It would be uncommon for a Gentile woman to approach him. However, the woman was quite desperate. Jesus at first did not speak to her and ignored her. The English translation of scripture sounds as if He was being rude. Yet, He was likely forcing an awkward situation to draw attention to it so that it could be a teachable moment. His words seem harsh but the woman is persistent and seemed to understand his point. Jesus stated that his current mission was to Israel. The woman replied that she understood that, and sticking to Jesus’ analogy stated that even dogs get to eat crumbs. Jesus commended her on her faith and, as requested, her daughter was healed (Mt 15:22-28).

Surprisingly, it seemed the Gentiles were more anxious to receive the message that Jesus had come to preach to his own people. Christ’s gospel message at this time was to repent because the Kingdom of God was nigh, meaning that their acceptance of him would usher in His reign on earth with them which many of the Old Testament prophets spoke of and which all Jews were looking forward to. They believed in the prophecy, just not that it would come true in their lifetime. That would mean they had to make a decision to change; many were not prepared to do so. It is likely that Jesus was using these Gentile conversions at this time to bring his own people to be envious and see the truth (Mt 11:20; Ro 10:19, 11:11).

To understand why the Gentiles were eager to accept, one needs to understand why the Jewish leaders were not. The Jewish leaders were at odds with Jesus because, to them, Jesus' teachings were radical. They may at first seem opposed to the Jewish laws of the day, but upon closer inspection they were not as radical as one may think. Jesus spoke about the heart, the Jewish leaders spoke about action and deed. Many of the Jewish leaders would tithe not only what the Law required but also tithed from the very spices they had (Lk 11:42). Jesus taught that getting the heart right gets the deed right. Jesus criticized them of neglecting justice and love when they obeyed the letter of the law (Lk 11:42). The Jewish leaders ignored the heart and focused on the deed. Jesus understood that getting the deed right does not necessarily get the heart right. Many Old Testament prophets had also taught similarly:

• to obey is better than sacrifice (1Sa 15:22);

• the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit (Ps 51:17)

• rend your heart and not your garments (Jl 2:13)

• I hate, I despise your feast days (Am 5:21)​• Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you (Ml 1:10).

The truth stung because it meant they had to change their world view and how they measured their own righteousness. They had a hard time with that. The Gentiles, however, did not have a pre-established sense of righteousness and so Christ’s words rang true to them and many were ready for its acceptance. That is likely why the gospel spread so quickly once it reached the Gentiles.

However, this is not to say that Christ ignored the Gentiles. He loved them. After all, he told Nicodemus that he came because God loved the world (Jn 3:16). He often visited the predominant Gentile areas: in Gadara he healed demoniacs (Mt 8:28-34; Mk 5:1-16), he went through the Decapolis healing and teaching (Mk 7:31-35), as well as in Syria (Mt 15:21-28). People from these regions also sought him out for healing and listened to him speak (Mt 4:24-25; Mk 3:8).

I think this shows how inclusive Christ was of everyone. The Jews believed themselves to be God’s people, and rightly so, but they believed it to the exclusion of everyone else. Christ came for the Jews, but did not reject the Gentiles. His true mission was our heart. Changing the heart changes everything. It still does.

In the last post, we discussed the gifts the Magi gave to Jesus. But when were these gifts actually given? Even though most Christmas stories have the Magi arriving with the shepherds to view the baby Jesus, we find from Scripture that the Magi actually came much later (Mt 2:11). We also know that some recognize this distinction by celebrating Epiphany (the arrival of the Magi, the three kings) in January. How much later did they actually arrive? Well, let’s see if we can piece all the clues together.

Many say that Christmas was created to provide a Christian alternative for a pagan holiday, but is that the whole story? Maybe. Maybe not. Let’s investigate.

Frederick Larsen1 has given a lot of evidence on specific dates for the events of Jesus’ early life. I won’t go into all that he has done. It’s fascinating, so I hope you check it out in more detail.

Based upon several Biblical passages, (Gn 49:9; Rv 12:1-5) and the conjunction of specific planets or stars (Jupiter, Regulus, and Venus), it is likely that Jesus’ conception was in September of 3 BC. This puts the event around Rosh Hashanah of that year. Very apropos, don’t you think? This holiday is also called Feast of Trumpets in Scripture (Lv 23:24-15) and was a memorial feast of the blowing of trumpets to ask God to remember His covenant with Israel.2 The conception of the Messiah would indeed represent God remembering his people after the 400 years of prophetic silence.

If this is true, it would put his birth nine months later in June of 2 BC. This also coincides with a triple conjunction of Jupiter with Regulus, and Jupiter then continuing its journey for a rendezvous with Venus, noted as the Mother planet. With the naked eye, these stars would appear as one star – one very bright star. In addition, this would put Christ’s birth near the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (or Pentecost). This holiday has marked many paradigm shifts in scripture:2 e.g. giving of the Law, and the beginning of the church. And now, we see this fits with his birth as it was certainly a paradigm shift for Israel. We don’t have time to get into all of that here, but look at his teachings and the Jewish leaders’ response as well as his initial gospel to Israel.

Now, if we follow Larsen’s logic of when the star was over Bethlehem and appeared to “stay” (i.e., as Jupiter entered retrograde motion), it would put their visit at Bethlehem on December 25, 2 BC. Isn’t that interesting? The first gifts were given when we actually give gifts to each other. Somewhat serendipitous? Maybe.

This also helps us understand why Herod killed everyone in Bethlehem two years old and younger. While the above information would show that Jesus was only six months old at this time, we need to realize the signs in the stars occurred nine months earlier which would make the total time to be slightly under two years. Herod, and the wise men, may have been unsure if the initial signs were of conception or of birth. Herod was making sure of either in case it was the later.

I find it interesting and awesome that all that happened in the birth of Christ match the meaning of the different Jewish festivals upon which they occurred around, and although December was chosen to celebrate his birth as an alternative to a pagan holiday, it still has a Biblical significance showing us when those first gifts were actually given. Sometime serendipity isn’t serendipity at all.

You may have heard the story many times about the three wise men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. We’ve had previous discussions about was it really three, when they came, and how much of an uproar did they really cause when they met Herod. Yet, I want to focus on the gifts they gave. We read the following in Scripture: “And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Mt 2:11).

I’m sure those are not really the gifts you’re hoping for on Christmas morning. Although, gold wouldn’t be so bad, right? But what would you do with frankincense and myrrh? Maybe you’ve heard, “gifts for a king” as the explanation. But why? True, they are all expensive and that is what one would expect someone to give to a king – expensive gifts. Yet, there is more to that. Gold, of course, can, and does, represent his kingly stature. For indeed, he was to become the King of kings (Rv 17:14; 19:16). Frankincense was a spice used in incense and was used in the preparation of the incense used by the priests for worshipping God in the temple (Ex 30:34). Myrrh was a spice used for many things, but also commonly used on the dead for burial (Jn 19:39).

These gifts represented the three stations Christ would fulfill: prophet, priest, and king. Well, this is the order that we normally think, and it is the order in which Christ fulfilled these stations. Yet, this is the reverse order the Magi gave the gifts. Is that significant? I think so. Christ was a prophet at his first coming (Dt 18:15; Mt 13:57, 14:5, 21:11; Lk 1:76, 4:24; Jn 4:19, 6:14, 7:40), and like most prophets, he was killed. Myrrh was used to anoint his dead body for burial. Today, he is our high priest (Hb 4:14-15; 8:1 – 9:28). Therefore, frankincense was a very suitable gift. He is coming back as a king and will reign (Rv 17:14; 19:16). Gold was a very suitable gift to represent this.

Yet, as we stated, the gifts were given in the reverse order of how Christ fulfilled, and will fulfill, them. That is because the gift of king was given first. That is what the angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary (Lk 1:31-33), that is what John the Baptist proclaimed and offered to the people (Mt 3:1-2), and that is what Christ first offered at the beginning of his ministry (Mt 4:17). Gold – his kingship – was offered first. It was rejected by many people and the leaders of Israel. Therefore, what was offered first became what will be given last. But, that did not alter God’s perfect plan because we still benefited as he offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins and now intercedes for us. Yet, this first offer is still offered to us. Yet, now we must first accept the myrrh and frankincense in order to have the gold. Are you willing? Will you accept the myrrh – his sacrifice for your sins? Will you accept the frankincense – have him be your high priest to intercede for you before God the Father? It is only then you can accept the gold – have him as your king and watch him become the King of kings. Christmas is touted to be about peace. That can only happen when you accept the gold, but you must first accept the myrrh. The order of the gifts was important, but the fulfillment of those gifts are even more important. Will you accept them?

So, what happens when Christ’s Promised Kingdom, the Millennium, his 1,000-year reign, is over? We saw the initial part of that in our previous post: Satan is released (Rv 20:7) and he, along with those who have rejected Christ, wages war against Christ in Jerusalem. They are utterly defeated (Rv 20:8-9). The Great White Throne Judgment is held and Satan and all those who have rejected Christ are cast into the Lake of Fire (Rv 20:10-15). The current heaven and earth are destroyed with fire, and God creates a new heaven and earth (Is 65:17; 2Pt 3:10; Rv 21:1). Sin is thereby removed forever (Rv 21:27). The sea is no longer part of the new age (Rv 21:1). God dwells with his people.

When God states he will create a new heaven, what exactly is he meaning? There are three types of heavens referred to in scripture. The first is the atmosphere (Is 55:10), the second is outer space where the stars and galaxies reside (Dt 4:19), the third (also called heaven of heavens) is where the omnipresent God’s presence is perfectly displayed (2Ch 6:18; Ps 11:4; 2Co 12:2). It is possible that God creates an entirely new universe, but since the first heaven is tightly bound to the earth, saying “new heaven and earth” likely means the earth and its atmosphere.

So, who will actually enter the Eternal State? There are two main groups. First, those who were part of the 1st resurrection will enter. These include those resurrected or transformed at the Rapture, Old Testament saints, and Tribulation saints (and who had been serving/ruling with Christ during the Millennium). They all will continue to serve/rule with Christ throughout eternity. The second group are those who accepted Christ as Savior during the Millennium. These will not be transformed into a body like Christ, but into a body like Adam and Eve had at the beginning. They will eat of the Tree of Life and drink of the River of Life to sustain their eternal state. They may be able to have children since Adam and Eve were able to have children. While this is not explicitly stated or explained in scripture, it may likely be implied since “nations” still exist during the Eternal State (Rv 21:24, 26; 22:2).

What will people do for an eternity? Because of the large number of people, there will be the need for a lot of administration. Who is specifically identified? The Bride (New Testament Saints, i.e., the Church) will assist in administration and offer eternal testimony to God’s attributes of grace and love. (Rv 2:26-27; 3:21; 20:6). The Resurrected Saints (Old Testament and Tribulation) are identified as friends and attendants of the Bridegroom (Mt 25:1, 10). They will rule over Israel and the nations. Israel itself will be the head of the nations and be God’s witness helping the nations worship the Lord (Jr 31:36; 33:17-26). Then there are kings & nations identified. Administered by kings, the nations will carry on activities and productions throughout eternity, and bring the glory and honor they find in their daily tasks and discoveries back to God for display when they visit the new Jerusalem (Rv 21:24-26).

These are the people identified, but what will they actually do. Let’s explore that next time.

The Church, or those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as the payment for their sins and their eternal future, is known as the Bride of Christ (Ep 5:24-27; 2Co 11:2). Now to picture how we fit into this analogy, we need to understand the Jewish concept of a wedding. After all, as we have stated many times, the Bible is written from a Jewish perspective. There are three main components to a Jewish wedding. Let’s explore those:

First Part: Betrothal Period. A marriage contract was signed by the parent of the bride and the bridegroom. The parents of the bridegroom, or the bridegroom himself, would pay a dowry to the bride or her parents. This first part of the marriage between Christ and the Church is completed when each believer places his or her faith in Christ as their Savior. The dowry (the blood of Christ) was paid by the bridegroom (Christ) to the bridegroom’s parent (God the Father) on behalf of the bride. As the Church is composed of individuals, the bride is still being formed as believers put their faith in their bridegroom. Yet, at some point in the future, the bride will be considered complete (Ro 11:25). The second part of the wedding will then commence.

Second Part: Receiving the Bride. The groom went to get the bride after a period of time – usually occurring a year or so later. One reason for this was to be sure the bride was pure and a virgin. If the woman was not a virgin, it would become evident within the year. At some undisclosed time, the bridegroom, accompanied by his male friends, would go to the house of the bride (typically somewhere around midnight) and take her and her bridesmaids to the bridegroom’s home via a parade through the city. This will be completed at the Rapture (a sudden catching up; 1Co 15:51-52; 1Th 4:13-18) when the bridegroom (Jesus Christ) returns for his bride (the Church).

Third Part: Wedding Supper. A wedding supper was held, which could go on for days. This is fulfilled as described in Revelation (Rv 19:7-9), most likely in heaven after the Rapture and before Christ returns to earth.

Attendees to the Wedding Feast: not everyone was invited. There were three main groups: the bridegroom, the bride, and the attendants. So, from this analogy, who will those be? The Bridegroom is none other than Jesus Christ; the Bride is the Church (these will now have their glorified bodies); the attendants are the Old Testament saints (these will not yet have glorified bodies but be whatever bodies souls have as we discussed in our previous post).

I know there is a lot of controversy around the Rapture event. Yet, as we see above, it does fit into the wedding scenario and would help to fulfill Rv 19 in heaven at the same time as the Tribulation Period is happening on the earth. It also allows it to last for an extended period of time similar to a normal Jewish wedding feast. There are also some other characteristics about the Rapture we should consider. It is an imminent event. There is nothing that has to happen before this event can happen. All other events are tied to a Jewish timeline. This event is not tied to a Jewish timeline (nothing has to occur prior to this event occurring). This event is for the Church and does not involve the nation of Israel. Actually, this event happens so God can once again deal with the nation of Israel (more of that later). You can see how this really ties into the idea of the bride not knowing when her bridegroom would come for her.

The Rapture occurs at the end of the “Age of Gentiles”: “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in” (Ro 11:25). The Feast of Pentecost represents this time period; two trumpet blasts occurred on this feast day (one to initiate it and one to complete it). Three types of sacrifices were made at Pentecost (Nu 10:10): the burnt offering with a trumpet blast, followed by a sin offering, followed by a fellowship offering with a trumpet blast. Isn’t that what we do currently? We accept Christ as our Savior (offering ourselves to him as a whole burnt offering), we continuously confess our sins (1Jn 1:9), and we will be with him and fellowship with him forever after the Rapture. What is the Rapture but the beginning of our eternal fellowship with Christ.

So, what will our new bodies at the Rapture be like? The intermediate bodies of those who died and are already in heaven are upgraded, or the souls receive, a glorified body that will be like that of Christ (Pp 3:20-21; 1Jn 3:2). It would seem that our future glorified body will need a physical body to be transformed (1Co 15:52). Perhaps that is why righteous souls are said to be raised as they are already with Christ in a non-glorified state. Otherwise, why would a glorified body not be given at time of death? Why do the righteous souls have to come back for a body? This is a mystery that the scriptures do not actually explain. Yet, in the light of a Jewish wedding, it may be to fulfill the presentation of the bride to the bridegroom. The why is perhaps not that important as the sureness of the event is what matters. We do get some clues to the characteristics of our future glorified state. Our glorified bodies will be solid (Thomas was able to feel the scars of Jesus’ body; Jn 20:27), they will be similar to our natural body (Jesus was recognized and bore scars; Jn 20:20) yet these bodies can also look dissimilar (disciples on road to Emmaus did not recognize him; Lk 24:13-16), they can materialize and rematerialize (Jesus appeared in a closed room; Jn 20:19, and he disappeared from the disciples sight; Lk 24:31), and the physical realm has no power over these types of bodies (Jesus defied gravity in his ascension; Ac 1:9). I’m sure that is just the beginning! Great things await us. Are you excited!

We have looked at the first two temptations of Christ: the first appealing to physical need and the second appealing to desire. Today we look at the third: the appeal to emotional need. Did Christ have emotional need? Let’s see what Scripture states: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me’” (Mt 4:8-9)

Well, at first glance we see that this is rather strange. Who is Satan that he could even offer such a promise? Could he really grant such a thing? After all, doesn’t God own everything? Yes and no. God created everything – absolutely. And He controls everything – absolutely. But Adam gave something away a long time ago. God offered Adam a theocratic kingdom – one where Adam ruled with God’s authority and control (Gn 1:28). However, because of Adam’s rebellion – yes it was rebellion – Adam relinquished his kingdom to that of Satan. After all, that is why we are all born into sin – into Satan’s kingdom. He is not called ‘Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air’ for no reason. We are there automatically. We have to want to be in God’s kingdom and make that choice. That is why the stakes are so high.

Therefore, Satan had the kingdom to offer. Why would Christ want it? That was the plan – to take back the kingdom that Adam had relinquished. Satan has always wanted to rule the world and has made several attempts in the past and will do so in the future. However, one of the goals of Christ is to take back that kingdom before this world ends and show that Satan is not the ultimate ruler. That is one of the main purposes for Christ one day to establish his Millennial Kingdom. So, here, we see that Satan was willing to give up all of that and ‘help’ Christ out – for a price of course. What was the price? To bow down and worship Satan. Would that be so bad? After all, Christ would not have to go to the cross, would not have to endure all of the pain and suffering. And, he would obtain the goal of taking back the Kingdom from Satan. But it was not a win-win scenario. There was too much at stake here. What would be ultimately lost? Sin would not be atoned, mankind would remain under Satan’s control and now even the Godhead would be under Satan. Unthinkable!

So what did Christ say? Jesus replied, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Mt 4:10; Dt 6:13). Again, Christ did not ponder the request. Christ knew that Satan was the father of lies (Jn 8:44). Satan, of course, always weaves in a few elements of truth to mask the lie. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish the lie from the truth. That is why Christ did not ponder, did not try to weigh the pros and cons. He knew Satan’s tactics and knew they were not worth considering. Christ stuck to Scripture; true, undiluted Scripture. We should too. Let’s take notice. We need to take Scripture at its face value and know that it is from God Himself. Let’s not try to reason and make it fit our desires. Let’s do the right thing and make our needs, desires, and emotions fit into what Scripture tells us. Then the same will happen for us and it did for Christ: “Then the devil left him” (Mt 4:11). We can be overcomers just as Christ himself was that day.

The first temptation that Satan presented to Jesus was, ”If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Mt 4:3). Was that a real temptation? Well, let me ask you, if you had not eaten for 40 days and nights would that have been a temptation for you? So, as usual Satan takes the cheap shot first. Interesting how he appealed to his human side at the same time as his godly side. Satan appealed to his physical need of hunger but stated that his godly side could satisfy his human need. Of course Christ could have done that. Would that have been wrong? I don’t think the action itself is the real problem. The real problem is the first word: if. Satan is in a very subtle way asking Jesus to prove himself. Satan did not say, “Jesus you are the Son of God. You are able to satisfy your physical need of hunger. You can make these stones become bread.” No, Satan said, “If you are the Son of God…” That is a big difference. One is acting on who Jesus is. The other is proving who Jesus is. Jesus does not have to prove Himself to anyone.

So, what was Jesus’ response? “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Mt 4:4; Dt 8:3). Was this a satisfactory response? Jesus was stating that his physical need is not more important than God’s purpose. Just because Jesus could do something was not enough for Him to fulfill it. Satan was saying, “Use your power to your own advantage. After all, who is going to know?”

Now, do you let your physical needs dictate your obedience? I know when I get really hungry I get irritable and impatient. That is when my guard is down and I am probably less inclined to focus on how I could be a positive witness. I can become a little rude and get upset with people more easily. If I have just eaten, I am more likely to be more patient with people and a little more understanding. How about you? Does that sound like you as well? But Jesus stayed focused on the purpose that God had for Him to accomplish. Feel like you have just been served a piece of humble pie. You can get your piece after I get mine!

Therefore, although a simple question, it hits us all at our very core. This shows how Jesus is to be our model. His response is not the typical response but was the correct response. No wonder we are told that Jesus should be our model. Next time, we will see how the bar is raised but Jesus rises to the challenge.

The Bible states that Jesus Christ was tempted in every way as were we (Hb 4:15). Can someone who is both 100% God and 100% man be tempted as are we? Although the three temptations that are recorded which Satan presented to Christ after his 40-day fast may not be the only temptations that he faced, these are the ones we have the most detail about. Therefore, we should explore those and see what we can glean from what is presented in Scripture.

First we should note that these three temptations are similar in type to how Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan appealed to physical need, pride and/or desire, and emotional need. That is, she saw that the fruit on the Tree or Knowledge of Good and Evil was good for food (physical need), pleasing to the eye (desire), and good for making one wise (emotional need). Satan did the same with Christ. However, we know that Eve failed miserably but Christ was successful. We will examine the difference in how each responded to their temptation.

I think if we really think about the temptations that come our way, they will tend to fall into these three categories. If we look at how each responded to these temptations maybe that will help us to be more successful. Odds are that we will tend to fall on the side of Eve more often; yet, we can potentially have more successes if we know the tactics Satan is using.

The other thing to note is that although the category of temptation may be similar between the two (and among us), we will see that the actual temptations were tailored for each individual. Satan knows that each person has different weaknesses. Therefore, what is a temptation to one person has absolutely no effect on another. I think that is another game that Satan plays with us and sets a snare for us. Many times we see someone fall big time due to a certain temptation and we think, “Wow, he sure is weak,” and this sets us up to fall into our pride. Satan then gets a double run with a single hit. We need to be on guard for such things. We need to remember that everyone is struggling with something. Just because it is not the same as you, does not make it any less “big” for the person struggling with it.

This is a reminder that we should bear one another burdens and lift each other up – both with encouragement and with prayer. We can all be more effective if we feel and know that we are not struggling alone. Let’s be the biggest advocate for our fellow Christians as we can be.

Next time we will look at the first temptation that Satan extended to Christ and appealed to his physical need.

We have been talking about some of Jesus’ unique claims. However, there were many things about Christ that were unique. One of those things was how he healed. The Mosaic Law stated that those who were impure due to illness and/or disease were to come to the high priest after they were cured for pronouncement of being cleansed (Lv 14). This is because the high priest could not be near a diseased person without becoming impure himself (Lv 21).

However, if that which was holy touched something it became holy (Lv 6). Holiness was more powerful than the unclean. Now let’s look at how Jesus healed. Matthew 9:25 – Jesus touched the girl before bringing her back to life.

Mark 6:5 – Jesus laid his hands on the sick and they were healed.

Luke 4:40 – Jesus laid his hands on them and they were healed.

Luke 8:44 – A woman touched Jesus and was healed.

Luke 8:54 – Jesus took the hand of a dead woman before he said ‘arise.’

Luke 22:51 – Jesus touched a man’s ear to heal it.

These are just a few examples but they tell an interesting story. Why did Jesus not wait to touch these people until after they were healed? Didn’t he become unclean in the process? Later on, we read about Peter healing and he did what any law abiding citizen would do, he touched the person after they were healed so as to not contaminate himself.

This was not the case with Jesus. On the contrary, since these afflicted people were healed there was no impurity present. Why, because the holy had touched the unclean and so the unclean became clean. I thought this concept was brilliantly displayed in the resent Bible miniseries on the History channel. A leper came to Jesus and the movie showed Jesus full of love and compassion for this one in such a hideous state. With no repulsion whatsoever Jesus placed his hands on the face of this one whose flesh was basically falling off his face. Jesus’ touch however changed all of that. The man’s face went from being rotting flesh to pure unblemished skin. It was an amazing scene. Just as the sin offering made those who touched it clean even so our sin offering made those he touched clean. Isn’t that amazing? Does this not also prove Jesus’ superiority over man and his sin problem?

Jesus continues to do that for us. When we accept him by faith our unworthiness is covered by his blood and God s acceptance to us is now because of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it a beautiful plan God has instituted? All praise be to Him!